There is no way to stop Martin Tomczyk. After his victory at Spielberg a fortnight ago, the Audi driver now also won at Lausitzring and took over the lead in the DTM drivers’ standings following his success. Thus, Audi was able to beat its rival Mercedes-Benz at Lausitz for the first time in six years and even celebrated a 1-2 after Timo Scheider came home second.
On Sunday, Martin Tomczyk had started the race in fourth place, but was already able to make up one position at the start. On lap three, he overtook Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) and moved up into the lead following his first pit stop on lap 18. Then, he drove victory home in a commanding way. His fellow Audi driver Timo Scheider moved up the ranks from ninth place on the grid with a tactical masterpiece. The two times’ DTM champion benefited from the consistently quick performance of the Hankook tyres in the best possible way and only came into the pits for the first time on lap 30. This late stop was the basis that allowed Scheider to move up from ninth to second position.
Last year’s winner Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz), who had started from pole position, had to make do with third place and also lost his lead in the drivers’ standings. The 27-year old was only able to battle with the two Audi drivers in the first third of the race and eventually crossed the finish line 14 seconds down on the winner. In fourth place, Mercedes-Benz driver Gary Paffett only just missed out on his maiden podium finish of the season. In sunny and dry conditions, the Hankook competition tyre supported all the drivers and with its consistent performance allowed every team to use flexible race strategies.
Martin Tomzcyk: “The entire race was excellent. I made up one place right away at the start and then I noticed that I was very quick. I was able to overtake Jamie on the track and Bruno in the pits. After that, I just drove my own race. The tyres were extremely consistent throughout the race. After a long stint, I hardly noted any difference between new and used tyres. The tyres, the car, the team and the driver fitted together perfectly.”
Timo Scheider: “I am very happy. After the others turned into the pits one after another during the race and I was able to drive faster, we wanted to drive with full risk and I stayed out for a long time. The tyres worked well incredibly long, the performance was consistent throughout. Today, the tyre was just fantastic. I hope that it goes on like this.”
Bruno Spengler: “Today, the Audis were faster, but competition is very close in the DTM, one can’t be disappointed. We had the best strategy that was possible and we also had quick pit stops. I drove very consistently, I was fighting hard, but I wasn’t quick enough. All in all, Martin and Timo were quicker. I am not unhappy with third place and I am focussing on the next round at Norisring.”
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (head of motorsport Audi): “I am very happy with the overall performance. We had a good set-up and we were able to drive incredibly long and consistent stints with the tyres. That was the basis for success. Timo was in a position to do very good lap times with the tyres for a very long time. For Martin, we really got it timed very well. Initially, he was very aggressive and was able to move up as a result and take the lead with a very good pit stop strategy. Timo also set the fastest lap time at the end of the race. All in all, it was a great team result.”
Timo Scheider’s Audi Sport Team Abt completed the quickest pit stop at Lausitzring with a time of 25.586 seconds. Thus, the crew won the Best Pit Stop Award from the DTM’s exclusive tyre partner Hankook for the second time already. The prize, three crates of beer, will be handed over to the team on Friday at 18.30 h at the Hankook pit box during the next round at Norisring.
